The Miami Heat fell behind in last night’s game against the Utah Jazz by as many as 21 points late in the third quarter, made a run, but fell short, losing 104-97.  Two sides to this story.  First, these trips to the western time zone is never very successful for the Heat.  Recent history tells us that in the last two seasons, for example, they went 2-3.  They’re 1-3 so far, with two games left, tomorrow against the Golden State Warriors, and the next night in Los Angeles against the Lakers.  The negative side that must be addressed is where Miami continues to get pummeled on the boards.  Last night, a little more of the same as Utah out-rebounded Miami 40-23.  It is very difficult to win in the NBA when your opponent gets 19 second-chance points and you get ZERO.  With so much talent on this team, that is totally not acceptable.  The Heat will try and recuperate from this loss when they return to action tomorrow against the Warriors.  

In the rest of the NBA yesterday,

Washington 120 Orlando 91

Emeka Okafor scored 9 points and pulled down 11 rebounds.  Wizards point guard John Wall returned to the lineup after missing the first 33 games this season and had 12 points and six assists in just under 20 minutes.

Boston 100 Charlotte 89

Rajon Rondo had 17 points, 12 assists, and 10 rebounds to lead the Celtics to their sixth consecutive win.

Chicago 97 Atlanta 58

Carlos Boozer led the way with 20 points and 13 rebounds

LA Clippers 99 Memphis 73

Playing without Chris Paul, the Clips got 16 points apiece from Matt Barnes and Jamal Crawford.

Dallas 113 Minnesota 98

Darren Collison scored 23 points and dished out nine assists.

Sacramento 124 Cleveland 118

DeMarcus Cousins finished with 26 points and 14 rebounds

Oklahoma City 102 Phoenix 90

Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook combined for 77 points

TONIGHT’S GAMES:  

New Orleans @ Philadelphia    7:00 pm

Indiana @ Charlotte  7:00 pm

Toronto @ Brooklyn               7:30 pm

LA Clippers @ Houston            8:00 pm

Portland @ Denver                 9:00 pm NBA-TV

Milwaukee @ LA Lakers         10:30 pm        

The Conference Championship games are all set for this coming Sunday.  The NFC Championship game will feature the San Francisco 49ers going cross-country to face the Atlanta Falcons.  Game time is 3:00 pm, and it will be televised by FOX, Channel 7.  In the AFC Championship game, the Baltimore Ravens will travel to New England to take on the Patriots, in a rematch of the 2011 Championship game.  Kickoff is at 6:30, and you can watch it on CBS, Channel 4 in Miami. The odds in Las Vegas for these games:  San Francisco is favored over Atlanta by 4 1/2 points, while New England is a 9-point favorite over Baltimore.  I’ll continue to watch the odds during the week and track any movement. 

In Dolphin news, the team had a press conference yesterday to announce the details of a $400 million plan to improve the Seven Names Stadium.  Team owner Stephen Ross dosn’t consider it a “renovation”, but a “comprehensive modernization”.  The Dolphins plan an upgrade to almost every aspect of the 26-year-old facility, from seating and sight lines, to scoreboards and a roof to keep you dry.  The plans include:

Seats would be replaced and widened, with the lower level growing by some 3,700 people and moved 18 feet closer to the action.

Video screens, lighting and the sound system would all get upgrades, as would elevators and escalators.

And most dramatically, the stadium would have an open-air roof to shield fans from the elements.

The rehab job would take a little more than a year to complete andprovide 4,000 new jobs, 400 of them construction workers.  The NFL has made it very clear that the stadium’s deteriorating and antiquated condition will keep South Florida from hosting another Super Bowl, an event that brings millions in tourism dollars to the area.  The Seven Names Stadium is in the running for Super Bowl 50 to be held in 2016, and team officials are certain that if they get this project done, South Florida will again host the Super Bowl.  

Where will the $400 million come from, you ask?  The Dolphins are pledging half ($200 million) and the money from the public sector would come from a $3 million annual rebate on sales taxes collected, and raising the mainland hotel bed tax to 7% from 6%.  

In a bit of surprising news (sarcasm), the ever-recalcitrant and always-bitter human being Norman Braman said yesterday that “I will do everything I possibly can to fight this”.  Braman, of course, is still upset that he couldn’t do squat about Marlins Park, all stemming when he (Braman) owned the Philadelphia Eagles and he couldn’t secure public financing of a stadium up in Philly, forcing him to have to eventually sell the team.

I’m all for government pitching in with $$$ to renovate the stadium, especially with millions and millions of dollars that Super Bowls and BCS Championship games bring to the South Florida community.  Raising the bed tax 1% isn’t going to have an effect on the number of tourists that will continue to come to this little piece of heaven on earth.  However, there are a couple of items that should be addressed.  

First of all, Stephen Ross is 100% owner of the Seven-Names stadium, while Miami-Dade County owns the baseball park.  The University of Miami Hurricanes play their home games at the Seven Names Stadium and the stadium is also part of the puzzle of the BCS National Championship game.  How are they involved financially?  Methinks that there should be a private/public partnership, not only in sharing the costs of the needed upgrades, but also perhaps in sharing the revenues. 

Regardless, this project should be approved.  This is a win-win, both for the Dolphins, Canes, and the entire South Florida community.  

TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION:  The Dolphins moved to the Seven Names Stadium, (originally known as Joe Robbie Stadium) in 1987.  How much did it cost Joe Robbie to build the stadium?  Tell you later, alligator.  

THe NFL coaching carousel continues to go round and round, and the merry-go-round continues to accelerate.

The Chicago Bears are looking at Montreal Alouettes head coach Marc Trestman and Seattle Seahawks defensive coordinator Darrell Bevel.  Trestman is a former Dolphin and University of Miami offensive coordinator.  The Jacksonville Jaguars are considering an internal option, defensive coordinator Mel Tucker, as well as St. Louis Rams offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer.  The San Diego Chargers are talking to various candidates, including former Bears coach Lovie Smith, former Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt, Seattle assistant Gus Bradley, Colts offensive coordinator Bruce Arians and Broncos offensive coordinator Mike McCoy.  The Philadelphia Eagles have interviewed Whisenhunt, as well as TV analyst and former Ravens head coach Brian Billick. They have interviews set up as well with Bruce Arians and Bengals assistant Jay Gruden.  Now that I mention the Gruden name, ESPN’s Jay Gruden is always a possibility if somebody wants to break the bank.  The Arizona Cardinals are also interested in a couple of the above-listed coordinators.

     

I’ll continue to show the list of coaching casualties in the NFL until replacements are final:

Arizona Cardinals

fired Ken Whisenhunt

Buffalo Bills

fired Chan Gailey, HIRED DOUG MARRONE

Chicago Bears

fired Lovie Smith

Cleveland Browns

fired Pat Schurmur, HIRED ROB CHUDZINSKI

Jacksonville Jaguars

fired Mike Mularkey

Kansas City Chiefs

fired Romeo Crennel, HIRED ANDY REID

Philadelphia Eagles

fired Andy Reid

San Diego Chargers

fired Norv Turner

Baseball owners approved a rule change that will allow coaches and managers to bring interpreters to the mound this season for conferences with foreign-born pitchers who don't speak fluent English.

That was one of several rules changes that were voted on and tentatively approved at last week's MLB owners meetings. The changes now must be approved by the players' union in the coming weeks in order for them to be implemented for this season.

Two other notable rules that are expected to go into effect this season:

• Teams will be permitted to have a seventh coach in uniform, in the dugout, during games. Previously, clubs were allowed to have just six coaches dressed for a game. But with numerous teams adding a second hitting coach this year, clubs pushed for permission to have a seventh coach in uniform, and owners agreed.
• The fake-to-third, throw-to-first pickoff move now would be considered a balk. Baseball's Playing Rules Committee voted last year to outlaw the trick move, but the union vetoed that change temporarily, pending further discussion. MLB has the ability to implement that change unilaterally for this season, but is hopeful the players will agree to the new rule so it can be implemented jointly, sources said.

After a decade of denial, Lance Armstrong has finally come clean and admitted that he used performance-enhancing drugs to win the Tour de France.  Armstrong made the confession to Oprah Winfrey during an interview taped Monday, an interview that will be aired on Thursday on Winfrey's network.

The admission Monday came hours after Armstrong apologized to the Livestrong charity that he founded.  Can’t wait for all the lawsuits and legal mumbo-jumbo to start.  You also may want to keep your eyes on the US government, who are going to want to pursue this even further.  They obviously don’t have anything else to do in Washington.

Today’s article of the day comes from Dan Devine in Yahoo! Sports - Is this guy crazy?

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-ball-dont-lie/cleveland-cavaliers-may-target-lebron-james-2014-free-225204694--nba.html

Dear Santa Claus  Tooth Fairy  Cupid  Easter Bunny  Jeffrey Loria and minions:  

What do you mean, you still haven’t sold the team?  Christmas came and went! The New Year is here!!! What are you waiting for? The Super Bowl? Valentine’s day? Easter? Next year’s HOF election?

Your inept management allowed the Marlins farm system to deteriorate to the point of being horrible, and now have dismantled the major league roster while pissing off the players on the roster and the entire South Florida community.  How soon before you get rid of Giancarlo Stanton for another group of so-called prospects? You allow your management to continue the policy of “sell low and buy high”.  Please sell the team so we can once again enjoy baseball in Miami.

All kidding aside, your window of opportunity to get out of town is opening up in just a few weeks.  The five-year anniversary of the Marlins and Miami-Dade County agreement for the baseball stadium is coming up on February 21, 2013.  After that time, the “penalty” for selling the team is only 5%, a mere pittance, based on a $250 million value of the team.  You’ve already saved much more than that on the salary dump this season alone.  Of course, you and your minions have already decided not to field a quality major league roster this coming season, hopefully setting up the sale of the team.  

We’ll continue to keep our fingers crossed and light a candle in the meantime. 

Here’s the answer to today’s question: The Dolphins moved to the Seven Names Stadium, (originally known as Joe Robbie Stadium) in 1987.  How much did it cost Joe Robbie to build the stadium?  The cost of building the stadium was $115 million, and the work was completed in two years.  Thanks to Joe Robbie’s vision and personal sacrifice, we got major league baseball and have seen another five Super Bowls played in South Florida.   

We continue to wait on the NCAA to publicly notify the University of Miami football and basketball programs with their notice of allegations that will hopefully put an end to the investigation into illegal recruiting activities, illegal payments, and additional infractions.  Coaches and personnel that are no longer with the U and working elsewhere will also be answering these allegations specifically.  The University has been more than cooperative to this point, with self-imposed penalties and bowl game bans and are hoping that the NCAA, who act as both judge and jury, will be lenient in their handing out of additional sanctions.  After the notice of allegations is officially received, the University will have 90 days to respond before an NCAA hearing that would most likely take place in June.  After that hearing, the NCAA committee will probably make the total report public, along with the penalties, hopefully by August or September.  This could get ugly.

Don’t miss my two “Descarga Deportiva” segments (for the Spanish-challenged, “Sports Jam Session”) every day, Monday through Friday, at 9:25 am and 12:15 pm on Radio Esperanza, 1550 AM or on the internet on www.miradioesperanza.com. 

The 9:25 am segment on Radio Esperanza is brought to you by the fine folks at La Lechonera Products.  The inventors of the original mojo criollo way back in 1970, also offer the BEST naranja agria (sour orange marinade) product on the market, along with the latest additions to the family - the SALSA PICANTE (hot sauces, both HOT and EXTRA HOT), SALSA DE ALITAS (Buffalo Wings Sauce) and the truly incredible SALSA PICANTE con AJO (Garlic Pepper Sauce - Sriracha).  Look for all the La Lechonera products at Publix, Winn Dixie, Sedano’s, Presidente, and GFS.  If they don’t have it where you shop, ask nicely the first time, then use whatever means necessary to make sure they start offering the complete line of products.  Go to www.lalechoneraproducts.com and LIKE them on Facebook.  Check out some great recipes!  

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Behave yourselves, and always remember that tomorrow will bring us a brand new day.